Alleged sexual harassment victim clears doctor’s name

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KOTA KINABALU: The alleged victim in the purported Jesselton Medical Centre sexual harassment case, which went viral in July last year, has clarified that there was no misconduct on the part of the doctor.

The patient, who had sought treatment at the hospital after falling in the bathroom, called a press conference yesterday to clear the doctor’s name.

“There was no act of sexual harassment in any way on the part of the doctor against me. I called this press conference to clear his name because we are both victims of circumstance in this case.

“It’s not easy for either of us. I just came here to seek treatment and his responsibility was to provide that treatment, but there was some misunderstanding in the process, so I just want to clarify everything. We don’t want people to keep talking and make things worse,” she said.

The patient in her twenties, also said the voice messages, which were circulated through WhatsApp, did not come from her but confirmed that she knew the person behind them.

“The person who made the messages viral was the person who took me to the hospital — he was my friend,” she said, adding that he might have been upset on her behalf, because he believed she was mistreated.

However, the patient said she was shocked by her friend’s actions and did not expect that of him.

She neither confirmed nor denied an apology from her friend, and said she did not confront him about what he did.

“We did meet, but I was hurt by all the trouble he had caused me to the point where I didn’t feel anything anymore and I didn’t know what to say to him.

“The incident put a lot of pressure on me, and I think the same can be said for the doctor.

“We’re only human being after all, and others had a lot to say about what happened, which resulted in too many stories.

“This thing is actually very simple; I just came to visit the doctor for treatment, that’s it. What the middle persons do, I have no idea,” she added.

When asked why she did not come forward with her side of the story sooner, the patient said she had been overwhelmed by what happened.

“Put yourself in my shoes. We are normal people. Having a press conference to address this issue is overwhelming.

“At the same time, the messages did not come from me, so I didn’t feel that it was my battle to fight at the beginning. I’m just a patient,” she said.

In July last year, an unknown man circulated messages through WhatsApp alleging that his friend, the patient, had been sexually assaulted by a doctor while seeking treatment at Jesselton Medical Centre.

Hospital chief operating officer Dr Karen Pamela Soh said the hospital was pursuing the case in court.